Methodologies of speech

Four Methods of Delivery

Speaking in public has more formality than talking. During a speech, you should
present yourself professionally. This doesn’t mean you must wear a suit or “dress
up” (unless your instructor asks you to), but it does mean making yourself
presentable by being well groomed and wearing clean, appropriate clothes. It also
means being prepared to use language correctly and appropriately for the audience
and the topic, to make eye contact with your audience, and to look like you know
your topic very well.While speaking has more formality than talking, it has less
formality than reading. Speaking allows for meaningful pauses, eye contact, small
changes in word order, and vocal emphasis. Reading is a more or less exact
replication of words on paper without the use of any nonverbal interpretation.
Speaking, as you will realize if you think about excellent speakers you have seen
and heard, provides a more animated message.

The next sections introduce four methods of delivery that can help you balance
between too much and too little formality when giving a public speech.

Impromptu Speaking

Impromptu speaking is the presentation of a short message without advance

preparation. Impromptu speeches often occur when someone is asked to “say a few
words” or give a toast on a special occasion. You have probably done impromptu
speaking many times in informal, conversational settings. Self-introductions in
group settings are examples of impromptu speaking: “Hi, my name is Steve, and
I’m a volunteer with the Homes for the Brave program.” Another example of
impromptu speaking occurs when you answer a question such as, “What did you
think of the documentary?”

The advantage of this kind of speaking is that it’s spontaneous and responsive in an
animated group context. The disadvantage is that the speaker is given little or no
time to contemplate the central theme of his or her message. As a result, the
message may be disorganized and difficult for listeners to follow.

Here is a step-by-step guide that may be useful if you are called upon to give an
impromptu speech in public.

• Take a moment to collect your thoughts and plan the main point you want to
make.
• Thank the person for inviting you to speak.
• Deliver your message, making your main point as briefly as you can while
still covering it adequately and at a pace your listeners can follow.
• Thank the person again for the opportunity to speak.
• Stop talking.

As you can see, impromptu speeches are generally most successful when they are
brief and focus on a single point.

Example.

An indelibly memorable example occurred to me when my siblings threw a

surprise 10th anniversary party for my Mom (Margaret) and our stepdad (Lidio).

“I can’t believe this surprise! I don’t know what to say… um, Dino [his brother]
when was that Yankee game Dad took us to when we were kids? It was 4th of July,
wasn’t it? 1939? And it was like it was yesterday; and today reminds me of that
day, when Lou Gehrig came out to the mound. He was slow, but we were all
cheering the ‘Pride of the Yankees.’ He wasn’t playing anymore, he was too sick,
but he looked around the crowd, and said ‘I’m the luckiest man alive.’ That’s how
I feel with you all here today; to celebrate our 10th anniversary. I’m here with you
and with Margaret; and I’m the luckiest man alive.”

The speech was short, emotionally charged, wonderfully articulate, and absolutely
unprepared. The speech had one central emotionally charged message; simple, in
words and phrasing, but complex by bringing an image of great sentimentality to
the occasion. He was able to react to the moment, and speak “from the heart.”

Extemporaneous Speaking

Extemporaneous speaking is the presentation of a carefully planned and rehearsed

speech, spoken in a conversational manner using brief notes. By using notes rather
than a full manuscript, the extemporaneous speaker can establish and maintain eye
contact with the audience and assess how well they are understanding the speech as
it progresses. The opportunity to assess is also an opportunity to restate more
clearly any idea or concept that the audience seems to have trouble grasping.

For instance, suppose you are speaking about workplace safety and you use the
term “sleep deprivation.” If you notice your audience’s eyes glazing over, this
might not be a result of their own sleep deprivation, but rather an indication of
their uncertainty about what you mean. If this happens, you can add a short
explanation; for example, “sleep deprivation is sleep loss serious enough to
threaten one’s cognition, hand-to-eye coordination, judgment, and emotional
health.” You might also (or instead) provide a concrete example to illustrate the
idea. Then you can resume your message, having clarified an important concept.

Speaking extemporaneously has some advantages. It promotes the likelihood that

you, the speaker, will be perceived as knowledgeable and credible. In addition,
your audience is likely to pay better attention to the message because it is engaging
both verbally and nonverbally. The disadvantage of extemporaneous speaking is
that it requires a great deal of preparation for both the verbal and the nonverbal
components of the speech. Adequate preparation cannot be achieved the day before
you’re scheduled to speak.

Because extemporaneous speaking is the style used in the great majority of public
speaking situations, most of the information in this chapter is targeted to this kind
of speaking.

The extemporaneous style is the method most often recommended (and often
required) in today’s public speaking courses, and is generally the best method in
other settings as well. While it is not the only method of delivering a speech, it is
the most useful for presentations in other courses, in the corporate world and in
pursuing future careers.

Speaking from a Manuscript

Manuscript speaking is the word-for-word iteration of a written message. In a

manuscript speech, the speaker maintains his or her attention on the printed page
except when using visual aids.
The advantage to reading from a manuscript is the exact repetition of original
words. As we mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, in some circumstances
this can be extremely important. For example, reading a statement about your
organization’s legal responsibilities to customers may require that the original
words be exact. In reading one word at a time, in order, the only errors would
typically be mispronunciation of a word or stumbling over complex sentence
structure.

However, there are costs involved in manuscript speaking. First, it’s typically an
uninteresting way to present. Unless the speaker has rehearsed the reading as a
complete performance animated with vocal expression and gestures (as poets do in
a poetry slam and actors do in a reader’s theater), the presentation tends to be dull.
Keeping one’s eyes glued to the script precludes eye contact with the audience. For
this kind of “straight” manuscript speech to hold audience attention, the audience
must be already interested in the message before the delivery begins.

It is worth noting that professional speakers, actors, news reporters, and politicians
often read from an autocue device, such as a TelePrompTer, especially when
appearing on television, where eye contact with the camera is crucial. With
practice, a speaker can achieve a conversational tone and give the impression of
speaking extemporaneously while using an autocue device. However, success in
this medium depends on two factors: (1) the speaker is already an accomplished
public speaker who has learned to use a conversational tone while delivering a
prepared script, and (2) the speech is written in a style that sounds conversational.

Speaking from Memory

Memorized speaking is the rote recitation of a written message that the speaker has
committed to memory. Actors, of course, recite from memory whenever they
perform from a script in a stage play, television program, or movie scene. When it
comes to speeches, memorization can be useful when the message needs to be
exact and the speaker doesn’t want to be confined by notes.

The advantage to memorization is that it enables the speaker to maintain eye

contact with the audience throughout the speech. Being free of notes means that
you can move freely around the stage and use your hands to make gestures. If your
speech uses visual aids, this freedom is even more of an advantage. However, there
are some real and potential costs. First, unless you also plan and memorize every
vocal cue (the subtle but meaningful variations in speech delivery, which can
include the use of pitch, tone, volume, and pace), gesture, and facial expression,
your presentation will be flat and uninteresting, and even the most fascinating topic
will suffer. You might end up speaking in a monotone or a sing-song repetitive
delivery pattern. You might also present your speech in a rapid “machine-gun”
style that fails to emphasize the most important points. Second, if you lose your
place and start trying to ad lib, the contrast in your style of delivery will alert your
audience that something is wrong. More frighteningly, if you go completely blank
during the presentation, it will be extremely difficult to find your place and keep
going.